Britain won by five one-hundredths of a second, finishing in 37.47 seconds to the Americans’ 37.52. As the official results flashed on the big screen, the crowd cheered wildly for Britain’s second gold medal of these championships.

Meanwhile, Bolt’s teammates rushed to help him as he lay on the track in the same stadium where he and his countrymen set the world record in this event, 36.84 seconds, at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Kevin Jones, a doctor with the Jamaican team, said his preliminary diagnosis was that Bolt had suffered an acute muscle cramp in his left hamstring, although Jones could not rule out the possibility of a muscle tear. He said that a slight delay at the start of the race — because of the length of two medal ceremonies that preceded it — might have contributed to Bolt’s situation.

“It was cold back there, and the guys were complaining,” Jones said.

Blake told reporters afterward: “They were holding us too long in the call room. Usain was really cold. In fact, Usain said to me, ‘Yohan, I think this is crazy, 40 minutes and two medal presentations before our run.’”

Omar McLeod, who ran the first leg for the Jamaican team, also criticized the delay.

“We were really trying our hardest to stay warm and keep upbeat, but it was ridiculous,” he said.

An error has occurred. Please try again later.

You are already subscribed to this email.

But none of the sprinters from the teams that did win medals had a similar problem to Bolt’s, not even Justin Gatlin, the 35-year-old American who had upset Bolt in the 100-meter sprint here (and who was booed again by some members of the sellout crowd during introductions).

“I personally think we were held underneath the stadium a little too long without our clothes on,” Gatlin said, referring to the athletes’ warm-up suits. “It was pretty drafty, and I lost all my sweat and body heat. I think a lot of us were jostling around trying to stay warm a little longer than usual.”

Bolt won three gold medals at the London Games, confirming his status as one of the greatest Olympians in history. He added three more golds at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, but this season proved to be one too far for Bolt, who will turn 31 this month. At these championships, he had to settle for a bronze medal in the 100-meter race. And then came the relay.

No morning person, he made an exception this time and took part in the early heats, running the anchor leg and helping Jamaica win its heat to qualify for the final. Bolt put on a good show before the final, too, joking with the mascot in the corridor leading to the track and playing to the crowd once he emerged from the tunnel.

But there would be no grins or laps of honor after this relay was run, and if this was indeed his final official race, it was hardly a reflection of the mood and victories that preceded it.

Bolt looked anything but invulnerable as he grabbed at his left leg, shouting an epithet while his rivals continued to accelerate. He looked anything but superhuman as he fell to earth, although he did manage a somersault on the way down.

He later rose again and limped away without speaking to reporters.

“I think that no one wants to see Usain go out like that,” said Gatlin, who remains convinced — despite Bolt’s insistence otherwise — that Bolt will eventually come back. “I think all of us have been inspired by him in some form and some way in his career. He’s done so much from 2008 on to now, so I think we can look past everything that has happened in these championships and congratulate him on his legendary career.”

If this is the end, Bolt finishes with 14 career medals in the world championships, 11 of them gold, and with eight Olympic gold medals.

But there was no final flourish for a man who has been not only one of global sport’s great athletes, but one of its great entertainers as well.

We have been taught that the name Nigeria was derived from the River Niger and coined from Niger area to Nigeria by lord Luggard’s Mistress Flora Shaw. In fact, the name first appeared in print in the Times in 1897 and Flora Shaw was then the colonial Editor. The area presently known as Nigeria used […]

Africa’s ‘Impressive Economic Growth’ Paradox More questions less answers!!! Economic growth ratings/projections are a flirtatious venture in development economics, this is more so as those making the ratings/projections often than not base them on hypothetical statistics due to lack of reliable data mechanisms. Nonetheless they provide us with a glimpse into what to do or […]

We have been taught that the name Nigeria was derived from the River Niger and coined from Niger area to Nigeria by lord Luggard’s Mistress Flora Shaw. In fact, the name first appeared in print in the Times in 1897 and Flora Shaw was then the colonial Editor. The area presently known as Nigeria used […]

(CNN) — President Yoweri Museveni, who made anti-homosexuality laws in Uganda much tougher Monday, told CNN in an exclusive interview that sexual behavior is a matter of choice and gay people are “disgusting.” After signing the bill that made some homosexual acts punishable by life in prison, Museveni told CNN’s Zain Verjee that, in his […]